Field Not Kind in Chilly Provo

Men's basketball struggles from field and falls in WCC opener at BYU.

PROVO, Utah -- LMU's return to Provo, Utah, for the second time since BYU joined the West Coast Conference was an icy one as the Lions struggled the entire night, falling 92-51 in the WCC opener on Thursday night.

The Lions finished the game shooting 30.8 percent, but hit just 23.5 percent in the first half that put them in a whole they couldn't get out of. BYU finished hitting 50 percent, hitting 55 percent in the second half in scoring 57 points.

"They won every phase of the game. They transitioned better than us. Rebounded better. Shot better. Defended better. Coached better. They laid the wood too us tonight.," said Head Coach Max Good. "Can't do much when you shoot the way we did and guard the way we did, especially in transition."

Ashley Hamilton scored 11 of his 16 points in the first six minutes to give LMU a 11-5 lead. However, BYU would go on 16-0 run to take a 21-11 lead and would put the game out of reach by extending the run to 25-6.

"They got on a roll there after we took a lead and hit us in the mouth, and we just did not answer," said Good. "Give BYU credit, they worked hard and I have a great deal of respect for their program. They pushed us every chance they got and we had no answer."

Hamilton was the only Lion in double figures with 16. Anthony Ireland had nine, hitting 4-for-13 from the field. Bruce English came off the bench to score eight. Matt Carlino had 21 points while Tyler Haws had 20.

Nothing much went the Lions way as BYU went 10-for-23 from the three-point line (43.5 percent) while LMU hit 6-for-22 (27.3 percent). In addition, the Cougars went to the line 24 times, hitting 18 (75 percent) compared to just 5-for-7 for the Lions.

"They were the aggressor for most the night," said Good. "Once they got rolling, we just struggled to answer."

It won't get much easier as the Lions travel to Saint Mary's on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 1:30 p.m. The game will be the first WCC Game of the Week on Time Warner Cable SportsNet.